Starz Says It Won’t Renew Giant Netflix Deal

Peter Kafka:

Satellite TV channel Starz says it won’t renew its distribution deal with Netflix when it expires next February.

If the company follows through on that statement, it will mean Netflix won’t be able provide digital access to movies from Sony and Disney — a scenario Reed Hastings and company have been trying to avoid for years.

February is a ways off, but this would severely hurt Netflix’s streaming library if they can’t work out another deal with those studios. This is the problem with being a middleman.

★ Thursday, 1 September 2011